New York University junior Christina Isnardi and a fellow student started the campus petition that asks the school to refrain from posting unpaid internships offered by for-profit businesses. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

A campaign against employers' use of unpaid interns is now targeting what critics call some of the practice's biggest enablers: colleges that steer students into such programs in exchange for academic credit.

Organizers hope to have mobilizers raising awareness on campuses as students return to school this fall. They also want to join up with organized labor as part of a broader coalition.

A New York University petition drive asks the school to refrain from posting unpaid internships offered by for-profit businesses. The effort comes after a federal judge ruled that Fox Searchlight Pictures violated labor laws by not paying interns who worked on the 2010 movie "Black Swan."

Organizers of the Fair Pay Campaign say the internships exploit students and often have no educational benefit.